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Hi all!!! I just got accepted into Columbia SIPA r2 for the MPA-EPM program - my number 1 choice but with zero funding. I really wanna go here and wonder if I can appeal this decision. Would be grateful. Help!!!!

I am applying to PhD programs and recently had a question regarding finances. How much do you usually have to pay for the health insurance and fees each year? Would it hurt my chances of acceptance or receiving financial aid if I were to apply for a FAFSA to cover fees and health insurance? I'm on medication for epilepsy, so the health insurance in my graduate studies is fairly important aspect.

I have heard that you need to fill out a FAFSA to be considered for departmental forms of financial aid such as an TA, RA, or fellowship. Is that true? Does applying for FAFSA as a fallback worsen your chances of getting a TA or RA?

Hello Urch, I want to apply for a Ph.D. program this year, but I have a lot of concerns regarding my chances due to my low profile. At the beginning of this year, I finished my master degree, and I was very excited to get a Ph.D. But after I read several profiles evaluation topics on this forum, I'm concluding that it would be almost impossible to get into any Ph.D. in the US or Europe. But I really want to get some opinions to move forward (to apply, to take another way or to give up). My Profile: Type of Undergrad: Public Federal University in South America in Business Administration. But, unfortunately, my university is almost unknown outside my country. In the positive side, the public federal universities are the best Unis in my country. Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): Planning to take the GRE in July 2019. Undergrad GPA: 3,12 (7,8/10 in my country). Type of Grad: Master at the same university in Business Administration (Corporate Finance Track). Graduate GPA: 3,4 (8,5/10 in my country). Research Experience: My MSc in Business was research oriented. So I have almost seven research papers/working papers: A paper published in a peer review national accounting journal; A paper published in the most recognized national business congress. Two papers in the most recognized national accounting congress. Two papers in the best finance congress and one working papers that I have to finish. They are all in my SSRN.com page. I think I can submit two of them to an international journal at the end of this semester. Teaching Experience: A semester as a teacher assistant (Corporate Finance class). Work Experience: Internship in a public audit office. Finance courses (Undergrad-level): Financial Management I and II, Financial Mathematics; Finance courses (Grad-level): Strategic Planning and Control, Asset Valuation and Corporate Finance. Econ Courses (Undergrad-level): Business Economics :( Math/Statistics (Undergrad-level): Introduction to calculus; Applied Quantitative and Qualitative Methods; Statistics for Business Research; Math/ Statistics (Grad-level): Quantitative Research I and II (Those classes covered subjects such as exploratory analysis, univariate and multivariate hypothesis tests, cross-sections and panel data analysis). I did a lot of accounting classes, but I don’t see how these classes will help me in Finance… LOR: I have 3 letters of recommendation, but all of these letters are from professors in my country: A LOR from my master supervisor (he is a decent researcher in my country), other LOR from the professor who accepted me as a teacher assistant and another LOR from a professor who is the chief of my university applied social science department. My question is: Sincethe GRE and the research papers are the only variables that I can improve right now, let’s suppose I can get a good GRE (>90% for Q and V), what do you recommend? Should I apply for a Ph.D. or a MPhil? I know that I have a bad GPA, a poor econ-related number of classes, a bad work experience, and that I’m from an unknown university/ country. But I have a decent research background and my plan is to work with empirical corporate finance research Also, due to the exchange rate conversion, I can’t apply for dozens of programs, so I have to choose carefully (10 or 12 programs) and I have to get financial aid too, since I’m not rich (all my savings are divided by 5 due to exchange rate conversion). I was thinking about the programs in Europe, because the majority of them offer financial aid: UC3M, HDHEC, ESSEC, IESE, ESSAD, HEC Lausanne (Léman, Lugano or Zurich), St. Gallen, CBS, Mannheim, and Frankfurt, or in Canada: Alberta, Queens, Toronto or McGill. I’m accepting more suggestions since some of those universities are the ones that I find because they have professors who publish papers that I used to read. 2. So, I really need some advice to move forward. Because, if I don’t have any chances to get a Ph.D. or MPhil, I will not expend my time (I’m studying 4-6 hours a day to take the GRE) and savings trying to do something impossible or something that I can’t pay for. Any help will be appreciated!

When i started finding professor it was really a toilsome work . Now me with one of my friend made a video out of all our ways those we found easy . Now i am sharing it with u guys purely on academic purpose . :)

Hi I'm university student, and currently I went to university in Korea.(I'm sophomore now) I want to pursue phd degree in the states, but I know that the prestigiousness of undergraduate college can affect the admission of phd. I didn't went to top university in Korea and not many of my school's students go to study abroad. So these days, I'm considering to transfer to one of the public universities in states such as UW-madison, U of minnesota, penn state, and ohio state. I'm not considering private ones because it's too expensive. So here's my questions. 1. Basically, the thing I'm really worring about is about the cost. I know the tuition is way expensive.(even though it is less than private ones) So I wonder if it's possible for transfer students to get financial aid or scholarships. (I have an american citzenship. I was born in there, but I came to Korea when I was a little kid ) 2. It's really hard to be accpeted in top phd programs. And people told me it's nearly impossible for me to get in there at my circumstance. Do you think I can make it to less of a long shot by transfering to above universities? Of course, I have to really study hard and be prepared for applying to top universities. Well, I'm not sure if I can get good recommendataion from professors at transfer university. Is there anybody who transfered and accpeted into top phd programs? Please tell me about what you think. Thank you in advance.

I have applied to a bunch of econ PhD programs in the 1-35 range and a couple masters programs. I would like to be considered for need-based financial aid if that exists. Does such aid exist? Should I be submitting FAFSA or some other forms to apply for this? Or is all aid merit-based and such that I will be automatically considered given my regular application to the school?

Im an undergrad student in umass amherst with a double major in stats and econ and a GPA of 4.0. I decided i wanna do my phd in economics (specifically econometrics). I have solid recommendation letters, 3 research papers, experience as an RA, 3 internships (one in a bank, two in economic consulting firms--small ones though) and some charity work. i started studying for the GRE and the TOEFL a couple of weeks ago Which schools should i apply to, given that i want to stay in new england and given my profile? also, I heard a lot of people say that you get paid to do your phd. Is that true? I need to be very realistic about my financial situation (PS: im not a us citizen!) Any other advice will be greatly appreciated! Here's my profile : PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Bs in math and economics from Umass Amherst + Commonwealth college (i.e., honors programs) Undergrad GPA: 4.0 Type of Grad: - Grad GPA: - GRE: currently studying for it Math Courses: Calculus 1 ,2, 3(multivariable calc), 4(advanced multivariable calc), linear algebra (one class), regression analysis, design of experiments, statistical computing (R, SAS, STATA), Project seminar (more on that later), Fundamental mathematics, differential equations, intro to probabilities, stats for economists (your basic hypothesis testing and confidence intervals) Econ Courses: Intro to macro and micro, intermediate macro and micro, intro to econometrics, advanced econometrics (grad level), political economy of the environment (grad level), history of econ thought, economic history of europe, development economics. Other Courses: computer science (Java programming) Research Experience: My thesis (Education reforms in post revolutionary Egypt and how to finance them), and in project seminar--a math class, i worked on a paper testing whether or not changing chemistry on a nanoscale changes the topography (paper title: nanoscale topography in a beaker, we mostly worked with hierarchical linear models), also did a couple of independent studies for the honors program (labor markets in Egypt, and (completely unrelated to anything, A comparison between women of the civil war and those of the american revolution) Teaching Experience: None. Work experience: worked as an intern in a Bank and a small economic consulting firm in Egypt. In the states: worked as a research assistant and again in a small economic consulting firm. Working as a translator for the International Development Law Organization. Research Interests: Econometrics, public policy--especially middle east economies.

i want to go back to college but i really dont have a lot of resources.. any thoughts? have you heard about anything that might help?